Enameling process



Aug. 5. 1924. a 1,503,991

H MOECKER. JF?

ENAMELING PROCESS 'Filed Aug 192s z sheezysheex 1 Aug. 5 1924.

H. MOECKER, JR

ENAMELING PROCESS Filed Aug. 6, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 3 HENRY MOECKEFI,33., 0F HO'MEWOOD, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 AMERICAN STOVE COMPANY, G15 ST.LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

ENAMELING rnoonss.

Application filed August 6, 1923. Serial No. 656,061.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY MonoKnR, J11, a citizen of the United States,residing at Homewood, in the county of Cook and. State of Illinois, haveinvented certainnew and useful Improvements in Enamehng Processes, ofwhich the following is a specification, reference being had therein tothe accompanying drawing This invention relates to improvements 1n avitreous enameling process and more particularly to a process ofenameling where n the step known in the art as wiping is done away with.

It has generally been the practice when enameling stoves to wipe aportion ofthe enameling off at certain points, such as around boltholes, for the reason that 1f the enameling is not tapered at suchplaces it is quite liable to crack under strain. Thls step of wipingheretofore has been done by handby simply taking a brush or so calledreamer and removing a part of the enamel at the point desired before theenamel is fused on to the metal of the stove.

It will, of course, be readily understood that the process describedin'this application is not limited to its application to stoves but canbe readily practiced in enameling any articles where heretofore wipinghas been required. I

The primary object of this lnventlon 1s to provide a novel process ofwiplng enamel as applied to enamel coated artlcles.

A further object of this invent1on is to provide a novel manner ofobtaining the wiping of enamel wlthout the customary tedious step ofwiping enamel byhandr Another and further object of my 1nvention is toprovide a novel enameling process whereby the finished article can beproduced more quickly and more cheaply thanheretofore.

Other novel features and important re- 'sults of my invention willappear in the accompanying drawings and following description.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 represents the side View of a gas range or the like, to whichhas been applied my novel patterns at those polnts where a wiped efi'ectof the enamel is desired;

Figure 2 representsthe. upperpanel top' join the front and top togetherand applied to those portions of the stove are certain shapes of myimproved paper patterns.

Figure 3 represents a front View of a stove oven door with certain of myimproved paper patterns applied thereon.

Figure t is a front view of the top shelf and upper top of a stove towhich are applied certain of my improved patterns.

I am familiar with porcelain enameling as applied to stoves,particularly the wet process. By this I mean that the ground glassinstead of being sprinkled on the red hot steel or cast iron of thestove, is kept in suspension in water by the use of clay.

The article to be enameled is dipped into this mixture or the mixture issprayed onto the article and then dried. hen dry the article is put intothe furnace and the furnace brought up to the proper heat for fusing theenamel on the steel or cast-iron as the case may be.

In order that there be an intimate bond with the cast iron or steel andto assure the proper fusion of the enamel there is first put on the basemetal what is known as a ground coat of dark color and then coloredcoats of another mixture are applied in the same manner, the color coatsbeing, of course, the controlling color of the enamel on the finishedarticle.

To obtain an article coated with white enamel it usually requires twocoats of white coloring on top of the ground color and as a result quitea thick coating of enamel is had when the final enamel is applied uponthe white color coats. I have found that due to this thickness theenamel is more or less liable to crack under strain.

To obliterate this cracking of the enamel it has been the practice,after the white enamel is applied and allowed to dry, to remove theenamel in certain places, notably around bolt holes, before the enamelis fused on. This removal of the dry white enamel is called wiping andis a rather slow and expensive process as it entails the removal of thedry white enamel with a brush or so called reamer or the like at theparticular points desired.

To eliminate this expensive wiping step I have conceived the ideaofcutting out pieces of paper of the proper shape and applying them wet tothe ground coat surface. As this step is now being practiced these paperpatterns are simply dipped in a pan of water and then applied directlyupon the part of the article which it has been heretofore necessary towipe using a sponge with which to press them down and to remove anysurplus water which may happen to squeeze through the paper or aroundthe edges.

The above described manner of applying the patterns is, of course, notthe only way inwhich this could be done. It can be done by simplyspraying that part of the article where the pattern is to be applied andthen placing the pattern upon the wet surface and patting or pressing itdown. I have usually found that more speed can be made in applying thepatterns in the manner first described.

When the patterns are in place upon the article the white enamel issprayed on or the article dipped as heretofore described. It will befound that as the paper patterns dry they will curl up and can then bevery easily and readily removed thereby saving in a great degree theexpensive work of the old time wiping method.

I In the manufacturing and assembling of an enameled stove it is readilyapparent where it will be necessary to wipe the dry enamel olf the stoveparts. This would also be true in the manufacture of any enamelec 7articles such as kitchen-ware.

In the drawings I have shown asexamples certain parts which go into theas sembling of a completed stove. I have not attempted to illustrate allof the stove parts for the reason that a few will be suflicient toadequately depict the application of my invention. I might also haveillustrated the application of my invention to some other enameledarticle but have not considered this necessary for the reason that fromthe description herein it will be obvious how to proceed to apply theteachings of my discovery to such other articles as it mi ht be desiredto manufacture.

eferring now to the drawings and particularly to Figure 1, which is anillustration of the side of a gas stove, it will be seen that in theupper left hand corner there is applied one of the patterns asdesignated at 1. At this point a casting is bolted on to the side of thestove and it is necessary that there be as little enamel at this pointas possible. The using of the pattern assures that there will be nothingbut the ground enamel here and in addition the ground coat portion canbe made of a shape and size exactly to correspond with the shape andsize of the casting.

As drawings form an illustration very simple to understand no detaileddescription will be given of the rest of the patterns shown'other thanto mention the reason that only ground coat enamel is desired at thepoints to which they are applied.

Thenumeral 2 designates certain places on the oven side where parts arebolted on and for ornamental purpose. The particular stove illustratedis equip ed with a thermostatic gas control and t e patterns numbered3are applied at the points at which the gas pipe manifold supports arebolted on the oven sides, while the numeral 4 designates the patternsurrounding opening 5 through which theoven heat regulator extends intothe stove oven.

Figure 2 designates the upper panel top of the stove and carriespatterns 6 and 7. Patterns 6 assure the removal of the enamel at thepoints where bolts go through the top and also provide a margin for theapplication of stove ornaments, while the patterns 7 remove the enamelat the points where the connecting castings join the oven front and toptogether. a j c Figure 3, whichis the illustration of the stove ovendoor, receives the paper patterns 8 at its two lower corners at whichpoints are applied the oven door; hinges. At

the top center of the oven door there is applied paperpattern 9 at thepoint where the oven door catch is applied and just below this patternare the two patterns 10 at the points where the oven door handle isattached. The oven door additionally receives the patterns 11 whichsurround the openings through which bolts project to fasten the doorlining supports.

In Figure 4., which illustrates the top ornament of the stove, there isapplied at its opposite ends patterns 12 at the points where there arebolted corner ornaments, such as nickel trimming and the like. 7 7

It will be readily understood that I do not limit myself to anyparticular shapes of these patterns as the shape is controlledaltogether by the particular size and'shape of the place to which theyare to be applied.

So far as I have been able to find out most any kind of paper can beused inmaking paper patterns and the invention practiced with success.At the present time I am using a paper stock which is ordinarilyreferred to as tissue manifold stock and which has proven mostsatisfactory. I find 7 that thin paper is made necessary to the bestpractice of the invention on account of;-

sprayed upon it or the article is being dipped in the enamel. c

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a novel step inthe process of enameling whereby the finished article can be producedmore rapidly and more cheaply than heretofore and at the same timeassure a finished product which is not only equal to but better thanthat produced by the old method, and which will additionally overcome toa large extent the cracking of the enamel as has heretofore occurred.

Having thus described my invention what I desire to protect and secureby Letters Patent is 1. In an enameling process, the steps of.

' applying to the article prior to the application of the enamel, wetpatterns, then applying the enamel to the article and allowing it todry, and then removing the dry patterns to effect a removal of theenamel from the article in the desired places prior to the fusing of theenamel.

2. In the art of enameling, the process of applying a pattern in a Wetcondition to an article prior to the application of the enamel, thenapplying the enamel to the article and allowing the enamel on the ar--ticle and the enamel coated patterns to dry,

whereby the patterns in their dry condition curl or shrink and therebyare very readily and easily removed to effect a re movalof the enamel inthe desired places prior to the step of fusing the enamel.

3. In an enameling process, the steps of applying to the article priorto the application of the finish enamel wet patterns of fibrousmaterial, then applying the enamel to the article and allowing it todry, and then removing the dry patterns to effect a removal of theenamel from the article prior to the fusing of the enamel.

4. In the art of enameling, the process of applying a pattern of fibrousmaterial in a wet condition to the article prior to the application ofthe enamel, allowing the en-- amel on the article and the enamel-coatedpatterns to dry, whereby the patterns in their dry condition curl orshrink and there by are very readily and easily removed to effect aremoval of the same prior to the step of fusing the enamel.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature.

HENRY MOECKER, JR.

